The top-ranked Middlebury women's lacrosse team outscored 14th-ranked Amherst 10-0 in Saturday's first quarter and never looked back, easing to a 20-9 victory on Senior Day. Hope Shue highlighted the win with a career-high nine points, including seven goals and two assists. 
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• The Panthers exploded with four goals in the opening 3:42 of play, including a pair of free-position tallies by Shue.
• Middlebury continued to ride the offensive momentum, recording the next six goals for a 10-0 advantage after one quarter. Shue scored four times during the quarter, while Jane Earley concluded the stanza, working from left to right across the crease before finding the right side of the goal.
• The Mammoths began the second quarter on a 5-1 run, pulling to within 11-5 when Sofia Guttmann worked through traffic and found the right side of the nylon with 2:34 left before halftime.
• Middlebury's Sara Ellinghaus stopped the Amherst run, collecting a loose ball in the Panther defensive zone and racing 70 yards on her own before tucking a shot into the upper-right corner of the goal for a 12-5 lead. 
• Caroline Messer finished the opening half, ripping a shot into the left side for the 13-5 advantage at the break.
• The Panthers pushed their lead back to 10 (15-5) on goals from Ellinghaus and a player-up tally by Messer early in the third quarter following a nifty assist from behind the net by Anna Spehr.
• Amherst cut the lead to eight (15-7) with goals 28 seconds apart from Clare Sosa and Guttmann near the midway point of the quarter, but Middlebury answered with the final three goals of the stanza to increase the lead back to double digits at 18-7.
• The Mammoths recorded two free-position tallies before a goal by Emma Inouye on the left side and Shue's seventh tally in the waning seconds made it a 20-9 final score.

NOTES

• Prior to the start of the game, Middlebury honored seniors Piper Ackermann, Allie Battista, Erica Barr, Earley, Annie Enrietto, Addy Hayman and Inouye.
• Earley continues her ascent up the program career record books. She finished with four goals and five points in the win, moving her into a tie for second in goals (189) and third place with 245 points (189G, 56A). 
• Shue has scored seven goals in back-to-back games.
• With the victory, the Panthers increased their overall winning streak to 19-straight victories dating back to the 2022 season.
• Middlebury and Amherst played for the 56th time with the Panthers owning a 49-7 edge and have won the last 10 meetings.

The Panthers will conclude the regular-season portion of their schedule on Wednesday when they take on Williams at 6:30 p.m.